Welcome!
Of COURSE Craigs List is just a messenger-what WAS the question? (Darn those Constitutional rights---however unpleasant they may be for us from time to time!) For anyone that doesn't know this already the real estate industry was rife with all sorts of things that would never fly by today's regualtions. However, make no mistake that it TOOK Federal and State regualtions to make them stop all the creative things that used to be in listings! Agents and Brokers would put whatever a seller wanted in a listing to get the listing! They just don't now because they will loose their license and then some. Agents/Brokers do not warrant the condition of the homes they sell. Buyers usualy choose to get inspections. Is getting an inspection even a question for a buyer anymore? I'll bet there are a million stories of peoople using a traditional agent to buy a home and ended up with a leaky roof or plumbing problems. Using an agent or not, and sometimes even getting an inspection, doesn't change that outcome in the least. There are things that happen to a home that even an inspector can overlook or happen after the inpsection. Everyone tries to be as informed as they can be. Home Warranties offered to sellers and then buyers after they close can be a big help in this department. Most Brokers have plans to offer such as that. It is a wise choice for the seller and the buyer alike. I know there are a lot of stories of listing agents out there that become invisable after the home is listed and also do not do much on any of the promises they made to get the listing. I know this because I hear those stories every day in our flat fee MLS listing service. The consumer should have a CHOICE to be pro-active in selling their home and saving money or evauluate their need for a traditional real estate agent and pay the higher commission gladly. There is more than enough room in the selling market place for different ways to sell a person's home to meet the seller's needs. What there isn't room for is strong-arm scare tactics that insult the intelligence of the consuming adult that says that sellers don't have the ability to ask questions and seek out an attorney or an inspector and make an informed choice when selling or buying. That they MUST use an agent to sell or buy or they have just committed some crime against humanity in a genuine effort to do it themselves. (So, with that in mind -no-one should EVER do their own taxes, do their own home repairs or car repairs to clothing repairs or build anything.....you MUST get someone that knows what they are doing!) HUH???? For people that feel they need a traditional agent's many services and have the room in their equity to pay the commission rate, that is the way to go if they want! If a seller would rather take on the head-ship and be pro-active in the selling process, ask questions and seek out an attorney and an inspector, flat fee mls listing services will save you thousands of dollars on the listing side of the selling equation. Most services offer the additional services of an agent if the seller does feel more help is needed--but that should be your choice on how much help you need and what services you want to pay for. Jim D. said one thing right---there is a way to save thousands of dollars of your own equity in selling your home! Check it out on the Net! Flat Fee MLS listing service in your State! You get all the exposure and more than a traditional agent sometimes chooses to provide and Realtor.com as well! You only pay commission to an agent if there is one involved in the contract you choose to sign. At least the commission is being paid to the agent that acutally brought the buyer! If there is no agent, then no commission is paid! America- gotta love it! Free enterprise and honest choices for us all! Susan Thomas, Managing Broker CENTURY 21 Clickit, Inc. www.c21clickit.com